DPC Accountants Stoke-on-Trent
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DPC Business & Tax Advisers
Creating Relationships – Driving Success
Wherever you are in your business journey, just starting out, established and running a successfully business, looking to retire to grow your business, or just need some help with meeting your tax obligations, DPC Accountants Stoke-on-Trent have all the skills to help you achieve your financial goals and keep you compliant.
Our aim is to build lasting relationships to understand your business and personal financial goals and help you achieve them.
We can provide you a professional, honest, and personal service from day-to-day business accounting and compliance, through to specialist tax or business advice, and auditing.
Our team have a wealth of experience to help individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses to reach their full potential and grow and develop.
We help a wide range of businesses from corporate groups, owner managed businesses, sole traders and partnerships working across multiple business sectors and industries.
We use and embrace technology to enable us to deliver accurate and efficient information to you which enables us to provide advice that adds value to your business.
Our staff are trained to a high standard and our work is regulated by the ICAEW accountancy body, ensuring we deliver a high standard of service to all our clients.
Working with you to ensure the success of your business relies on strong relationships, trust and integrity.
As a well-known Staffordshire firm of chartered accountants and business advisers, DPC Chartered Accountants Stoke-on-Trent use intelligent accounting solutions and expert advice to guide business and private clients.
Continual staff training and in-house skills are invested in to deliver the most up-to-date services compliant with HMRC, digital technology and data protection.
Whether you run a start-up company, a growing business, are looking to exit a business or require taxation advice, you can be assured of the highest quality guidance and tax solutions.
DPC Chartered Accountants are part of The DPC Group Limited, built on over 80 years’ experience.
The heritage of DPC Group Limited originated with Edwin Downward on February 9, 1943 who set up shop as a sole practitioner in Wellesley Street, Stoke-on-Trent.
Welcoming John Plumb in 1962 and Mike Colclough in 1963, the firm became known as Downward, Plumb and Colclough – later adopting the acronym DPC.
Over the course of its rich history as a firm of accountants in Stoke-on-Trent (80-years celebrated in July 2023) DPC has gone from strength to strength embracing many changes and a commitment to constant innovation.
When computers were a fledgling industry, DPC took a chance by investing into new technology by spending £3,500 on a revolutionary Logabax accounting machine in June 1967.
The investment enabled advanced accounting (at the time) for some of Staffordshire’s most prominent businesses. The efficiency in financial affairs resulted in many of these organisations achieving international success.
Looking to work as an accountant in Stoke-on-Trent? We welcome people at all stages in their careers, from school leavers and recent graduates to experienced professionals.
We’re focused on attracting the best talent, putting people into the right roles and offering the best professional training and personal development to deliver a first class client service.
We offer fully funded and supported professional training at each stage of an accountancy/ audit/ tax career i.e. AAT, ACCA, ACA (ICAEW), ATT, or CTA. This is supplemented with an in-house mentor and Personal Development Plan.
We offer structured career paths across a range of roles within the practice
The Budget and what it means for you
Click to see our guide to the implications of the 2024 Budget for your finances.
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Practice News
Accountants in Stoke-on-Trent
Abolishment of Furnished holiday lettings tax regime confirmed
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have published draft legislation and a policy paper outlining the proposal for the abolition of the furnished holiday lettings (FHL) tax regime. This was originally announced by the previous government and any hopes that this may be stalled by the new government are now laid to rest.
VAT on Amazon Fees from 1 August 2024
From 1 August 2024, selling fees charged by Amazon to UK vendors will be subject to VAT at 20%. This is because of a change in the legal entity that charges the fees. Previously, fees were charged by Amazon Service Europe S.a.r.l (ASE), which did not have a UK establishment, so the fees were subject to the VAT reverse charge procedure. From 1 August, fees will be charged by Amazon EU S.a.r.l (AEU), which has a UK branch.
Changes to National Minimum Wage recommendation criteria
The government made changes last week to the remit for the Low Pay Commission (LPC) that will mean it takes the cost of living into account when recommending minimum wage rates. The LPC have also been instructed to narrow the gap between the minimum wage rate for 18-20 year olds and the National Living Wage.
Changes to non-domiciled tax status to go ahead
The previous government included plans to end non-domiciled tax status at the Spring Budget and replace it with a 4-year foreign income and gains (FIG) regime. The new government have now announced their intention to continue with these plans, while ending some advantages for existing non-domiciled individuals.
VAT on private school fees: What that means for you
Draft legislation has now been published for the government’s plan to end the VAT exemption for private school fees. The government is also legislating to remove private schools from being eligible for business rates charitable rates relief. Because business rates policy is devolved, the business rates policy change will only affect private schools in England. VAT policy, however, is reserved and so the VAT changes will affect private schools across the UK.
IPO issues warning about misleading invoices
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has issued a warning for businesses to beware of unsolicited payment requests. There has been a recent upsurge in these bogus requests being reported. The unsolicited request may ask for payment for trademarks, designs or patent services. Following payment, the ‘services’ may not be provided, or may not have any benefit to the payer.
Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to help the UK’s critical systems stay online
The widely reported IT outage in July caused significant disruption worldwide. In this case the fault was essentially due to a bug in a security update rather than a cyber-attack, but it demonstrated the vulnerability of networks. The government announced its plan during the King’s Speech to introduce a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.
New mandatory housing targets for councils
The government have announced an overhaul of the housing planning system, with all councils in England being given new, mandatory housing targets. The targets are being set to allow for achieving the new government’s pledge to deliver 1.5 million more homes. The reforms include making brownfield development much easier to grant. Councils will also need to review their green belt land if necessary and identify and prioritise ‘grey belt’ land.
Chancellor Launches Landmark Review to Boost Pensions and Investment
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has announced a significant review aimed at enhancing pension investments, increasing pension pots, and reducing waste in the pensions system. The review was highlighted in the King’s Speech, confirming a new Pensions Bill that could significantly benefit UK pensioners and the broader economy.
Insolvency Service continues to tackle COVID Loan Abuse
The recently released Insolvency Service’s 2023-24 Annual Report and Accounts provides some interesting information on how the Service is doing in tackling Covid loan abuse. The report identifies that 831 directors have been disqualified for abusing Covid loans. 22 criminal prosecutions have been carried out, and efforts have been made towards recovering nearly £3 million for the taxpayer.
Nine out of ten small employers concerned about new legislation
The King’s Speech detailed proposals for a number of areas of new legislation that are likely to affect small employers. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) subsequently reported that nine-in-ten employers surveyed by them had said they have concerns that the costs and risks associated with employing people would be increasing.
IT outage causes significant global disruption
On Friday 19th July there were significant IT outages affecting businesses across the globe. The outage primarily affected businesses that use security software from a company called CrowdStrike. A recent update to their antivirus software contained an error that caused issues in the systems of many of the world’s leading businesses.
HMRC conducting Business Asset Disposal Relief checks
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) have reported that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are contacting taxpayers they believe may have overclaimed Business Asset Disposal Relief.
Getting help with redundancy: The Redundancy Payments Service
Losing a job can be a very challenging and stressful experience. However, if your employer has become insolvent and cannot pay you money that you are owed this adds even further to your stress. If you are in this situation, the latest Annual Report from the Insolvency Service highlights some important information about the support available that may be available to you through the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS).
Upcoming change to the law on sexual harassment in the workplace
The new Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 will come into force on 26 October 2024. This Act will bring in a new positive legal obligation on employers for them to take reasonable steps to protect their workers from sexual harassment. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has powers to take enforcement action where an employer fails to meet its duties under the act.
Highlights from the King’s speech: What impact may they have on your business?
Last week King Charles delivered the King’s Speech. This is a speech traditionally delivered at the State Opening of Parliament and it sets out the government’s plans and priorities for the coming year. The Speech outlines the legislation that ministers of the new government aim to pass and while it’s delivered by the King, it’s actually drafted by the government of the day.
Inflation stable staying at 2%
The Office of National Statistics has released the latest inflation figures for June, and the good news is that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) has stayed at 2.0%. The largest upward contribution to inflation came from restaurants and hotels, where hotel prices in particular have increased on a year ago. Taylor Swift’s Eras tour in the UK may have been a factor in this.
Lessons for businesses from a cyber attack on the London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney (LBoH) has been reprimanded by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) following a cyber attack made on them in October 2020. The breach, which saw hackers access and encrypt 440,000 files, disrupted services for months and exposed sensitive data. LBoH acknowledged that the attack “posed a meaningful risk of harm” to 230 data subjects.